Klipsch KG 4.5 with upgrades

[Opti-cal]

Thanks guys, that's very encouraging to hear as I do plan on mating them with a 300b power amp. The tweeters already have the Bob Crites upgrades which apparently does tame them a little in the apparent shrillness department yet also allowing them to extend further. I've been listening to them in a less than ideal setting with some fairly basic equipment (until my 300b is 100% finished) and they do have big bass. Drum hits sound particularly life-like.

Should have the lounge up and running properly this weekend so will take some proper pics of them and finally get them up!

[Haselsh1]

Chris, would love to see what this all looks like. All the best getting this together.

[Haselsh1]

I remember playing Eddie Reader's Dear John track from CD through my old setup when I had it. It still doesn't sound as good as it did back then.

[Opti-cal]

My sincere apologies for lack of photo's that I did in fact promise!

Truth is I've only just got them sorted and properly setup in their new habitat. A word quite apt given that my lounge over lockdown etc was beginning to more closely resemble a jungle than any inhabitable space.

Anyway, I cleared the decks and fought back the undergrowth somewhat to reveal some partnering equipment for them to be tried with.

Paired with a newly rebuilt 300B SET amplifier (recently converted from AC to DC using some very nice regulators, thanks Alan). Also tried a couple of tube and SS preamps.

Well, no need for a sub with these. Definitely getting down to the low 30Hz area. Drums sound very realistic indeed. Also there is a lot of top end sparkle thanks to the 'Bob Crites' tweeter upgrade. These can sound a bit shrill with some kit (as most Klipsch's can) but no need for new fillings with these yet.

They're nice speakers, they go very loud and have very good bass. Their primary use will be background music in the living room as well as some AV duties for films and general telly watching. For this they are pretty much spot on.

As you can see from the pics they are somewhat imposing but foot-print wise they only take up a bit more room than the average speaker stand . . . . at least that's my argument. To be honest the 300B amplifier is slightly wasted in that setup as i won't be doing a huge amount of critical listening so I decided to try my class D power amp in combination with just a volume relay in front (a very good one though). I was a bit hesitant as I had assumed a fully SS front end might sound a bit shrill and harsh with them, none of it. The combo actually sounds really nice. Very sweet and forgiving sound, like I say I was quite surprised. The amplifier does have a single tube on the input side of both channels which gives some extra harmonics and possibly softens the sound a bit but it just works really well.

Horses for courses as ever. As you can see from the photo's with the grills on and some carefully placed toys in attendance it comes to some kind of compromise between an AV system and a domestic living area . . . . maybe. A couple of colourful pics on the wall and maybe a couple of plants in the mix and I'll be there . . . after over a year since moving in . . . . .

[Haselsh1]

Looking seriously good

I remember back around 1997 at a hi-fi show in Buxton in the Klipsch room. I asked the guy who was the UK importer if he would play one of my CD tracks. He did. It was Dear John by Eddie Reader. We were all stunned by the beauty of the sound. 300B SET amplifiers producing an absolutely stunning sound through 4.5's.

[Opti-cal]

Looking seriously good

I remember back around 1997 at a hi-fi show in Buxton in the Klipsch room. I asked the guy who was the UK importer if he would play one of my CD tracks. He did. It was Dear John by Eddie Reader. We were all stunned by the beauty of the sound. 300B SET amplifiers producing an absolutely stunning sound through 4.5's.

Yes there is an undeniable synergy between them. This particular 300B amp actually does terrific bass so it's already on high marks before you factor in that 'inner' 300B magic. Thing about these speakers is that there isn't a huge amount of natural midrange. Being a 10" (relatively stiff) main driver and a tweeter which is crossed fairly high, it's barely even a two-way, More like a 1.7 way haha.

Hence the slight lack of midrange. This might be where the 300B fills in the gaps a little bit compared to other amps and enables the main driver to really stretch it's legs.

At no point does it sound 'tubey/slow' etc or any other criticisms of some tube amps. It's just rich harmonics, sparking top end and (with this amp) coupled with massive bass slam, it's certainly making some lovely sounds.

That said however, I've got nearly all that (possibly just lacking some inner detail) with my tube hybrid Class D amp, so they must have good response with most amplifiers. I think if Klipsch had a bit more UK availability these (and ones made around the same time and of similar design) would be a lot more popular, they certainly deserve to be.

Perhaps more suited to the US market though, they do need a large(ish) room to really strut their stuff, I can't get much past 1/3 volume or stuff is gonna break!

[Haselsh1]

I gave up on the Klipsch's purely for Audio Note AZ-2's with an immense midrange realism and breathiness. Both were powered by an Audion 300B SET amplifier. Lovely stuff that excelled greatly with female vocals and acoustic guitar.

[Pepperamip]

I loved my KG4.5s. Mine had both the tweeters and new crossover caps and sounded sublime the amtastix mini 1 running off a 12v sla battery.

How are you finding them?


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[Opti-cal]

I gave up on the Klipsch's purely for Audio Note AZ-2's with an immense midrange realism and breathiness. Both were powered by an Audion 300B SET amplifier. Lovely stuff that excelled greatly with female vocals and acoustic guitar.

Yes, superb speakers on the couple of occasions I've had the pleasure. Did seem like quite a 'specialist' speaker though (which personally I'm fine with) regarding the genres it is most sympathetic towards. Do they work best with some room boundary reinforcement (from memory)? As you say the realism and midrange is quite something. They remind me of my little Loth X BS1's actually, a very fast paper cone driver provides those special moments. Don't like being pushed that hard though, but with their preferred material, why would you.

[Opti-cal]

I loved my KG4.5s. Mine had both the tweeters and new crossover caps and sounded sublime the amtastix mini 1 running off a 12v sla battery.

How are you finding them?


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Big.

Big sound, big fun to be honest. I may look into doing the crossover caps and a rewire in addition but they're sounding more than fine in their current guise. They are perfect for a lounge (if you have the space) occasional listening/AV system. However they would not be out of place what so ever in a main listening system.

It's got me looking at the 5.5's and also the Forte II's now . . . just out of curiosity of course . . . .

Some Forte II's just went on Emporium and there are some very good restorers in the USA among other places.

I could really get into some restored and modified ones . . .

https://community.klipsch.com/index....-restorations/

One day Klipschorns . . . . one day.